This is my new wallet, chosen not because I needed a new wallet, but because I loved that it said “Choose Happy!” It immediately made me think of my very favorite quote by one of my favorite presidents–Abraham Lincoln. He said that most people were as happy as they made up their minds to be. Considering that he reportedly suffered from depression most of his adult life, this sounds like a strange quote. However, President Lincoln also loved people and the give and take of life, so he kept his White House open to all.  He was a special man and a great leader.

My husband likes to talk about the “gap” between stimulus and response. The gap is the time you have to reflect and react in a situation–how you choose to react–rather than just giving in to your first impulse.What makes us different from animals is this ability to choose our thoughts and actions. So here are five ideas for choosing happiness.

Pay Attention

Look beyond yourself and where you are…..
Continue Reading

Aah, cell phones–good, bad or ugly? We baby boomers remember the good old days. You could spend whole days at home with peace and quiet, no phone ringing to interrupt your life at a moment’s notice. Heck, Rory and I didn’t even have a phone when we were first married—who could afford one! In those days, you rented the phone from the phone company and it was either rotary—or, even better—the Princess phone! The sleek design and revolutionary new push buttons were the ultimate in modernity.

Then later in our marriage, after having children necessitated our also having contact with the outside world (and grandparents), we were thrilled beyond belief with the new cordless phones! Imagine being able to take your phone outside into the yard and not being attached to the wall or a table. Of course, these were big clunky phones with limited range and battery life…..so when these phones morphed into cell phones—well, wow! We carried them with us in case of emergency, but usually did not have them turned on to conserve power.

Which leads us to today’s smart cell phones—I will be the first to say I love and hate my phone all at once. Let’s count the ways:

Continue Reading